Iran began blocking access to Gmail on Wednesday - a move intended to stifle the same Internet communications that made the "Twitter Revolution" possible. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Iranian government would soon shut down Gmail in Iran altogether, and replace the popular email platform with a government-run service.
The move comes as anti-government protesters flooded the streets during celebrations for the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Republic. Last June, social networks such as Twitter and Facebook were used to organize rallies and to keep the outside world abreast of the violence in the streets of Tehran. By pulling the plug on Gmail, the Iran government eliminates one more communication outlet for anti-government forces.
But why is Iran gunning for Gmail first, and not Twitter? As John C. Abell of Portfolio.com points out, it's a matter of which service is easier for the Iranian government to monitor:
Gmail is the only major online e-mail service that uses HTTPS connections by default, which encrypts the data sent between a user's computer and Google's servers. That makes it very difficult for the government to spy on Gmail users e-mailing other Gmail users, though Gmail users e-mailing others could be overheard. Users of other online e-mail services are vulnerable to having the contents of their e-mails scanned by government firewalls.
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Iran shuts down google e-mail
they're goona replace it with a govt run e-mail service. hilarious....
spy spy spy on Iranians
spy spy spy on the people......